Saturday, December 6, 2025

TV-crew detained in President’s vineyard

Police Sunday arrested the well-known Georgian journalist Shalva Ramishvili and his crew in president Saakashvili’s vineyard. Ramishvili was just done shooting footage for his TV show “Without Accreditation” in the president’s vineyard in Kvareli, a village 140 km west of the capital Tbilisi when regional police and officers from state security appeared and confiscated all the … Read more

Revenue Service halts tax audit of Palitra Holding "indefinitely"

Georgia’s revenue service has suspended the tax audit of Palitra Holding, one of Georgia’s largest media groups. The Revenue Service’s order, dated September 18, does not give any reason for the suspension. The GRS had only nine days left to complete their inspection when they suspended it “indefinitely”, after extending the deadline twice in three … Read more

Government introduces surprise changes in new election law

After reaching a hard-fought agreement with several opposition parties, the ruling party has introduced significant changes in the draft for a new Georgian Election Code. According to lawmakers, the eleventh-hour changes were only made in order to ensure a democratic election environment in the country, however many opposition parties remain skeptical. Some of the changes … Read more

President defends 26 May dispersal: 'we have improved since 2007'

President Saakashvili maintains that the deadly police action last May was necessary. President Mikheil Saakashvili has no regrets about issuing the order which led to the police clearing the area in front of parliament the night before the Independence Day rally. An opposition movement led by former parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze had gathered around 300 … Read more

Leak shows U.S. believed secret tapes 'turned the tide' for Saakashvili in 2008 election

The United States ambassador at the time thought that two recordings which were televised by Saakashvili’s government right before the presidential election in January 2008, decided the final outcome in his favor. The two clandestinely acquired tapes purportedly proved that one the president’s challengers  to the presidency had plans to commit a coup d’etat. The … Read more

Privatization will not mean losing control, government guarantees

As Georgia makes a new push to find more investors who will have a stake in its most strategically important assets, like the post and railways, the state will keep a controlling share of the stocks. Chair of the financial budgetary committee, Zurab Melikishvili, made the promise today during a debate in parliament about a … Read more